This invention is directed to a modular hand rail. It is common to provide wall bars or hand rails in private homes and public buildings to permit elderly and disabled persons to move about. Such rails are usually mounted to extend along a wall and must have sufficient strength to withstand the weight of a user that is applied thereto.
Such hand rails usually comprise a single length of solid or tubular material such as metal and are constructed to be mounted to a wall through stamped mounting flanges or brackets welded to the rail, such as the wall bar disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,141. Other prior art hand rails formed from a single piece of material must have end portions bent and cut at certain angles for mounting the rail to a wall, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,586. These prior art hand rails posses only limited mounting capabilities and design and have an industrial or institutional appearance.
It is an object of this invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing hand rail that is easily manufactured. Another object of the invention is to provide a hand rail system with design flexibility that can be easily mounted to a wall. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a hand rail which helps the user delineate the gripping portion from the mounting structure, particularly in areas where there is little or no light available.